After splitting the first two games, the Lady Riders (8-1) regained their focus and were able to go on a 12-0 run to end the match.

"It just came down to focus and execution," Roosevelt coach Bryan Camello said. "They ran it a little cleaner. They knew they didn't want to lose this one."

"We did what we needed to do to be competitive, but not enough to take the match away," Farrington coach Jenic Tumaneng said.

Emily Maeda had nine kills, while Meleana Yamashiro added eight for the Lady Riders. The Governors were led by Tiana Faafiti-Samuseva, who pounded seven kills and was in on two blocks. Farrington dropped to 2-7 for the year.

In Game 1, Roosevelt led from beginning to end, although the Govs kept it tight in the early points. But the Lady Riders slowly pulled away by getting small clusters of points after the game was tied at 7-7.

The Lady Riders eventually led by as many as eight points following a Farrington service error at 21-13. The Govs couldn't close the gap by much the rest of the way as Pupuhi sealed the game from the left side with a hard-hit, crosscourt shot.

"We were able to move some hitters around to different locations so we could take advantage of matchups," Camello said. "Just the versatility of the players allows them to play different positions."

The second game looked to be a copy of the first as the Lady Riders took a four-point lead on a dig/kill by Yamashiro. But back-to-back service aces by Nora Taua cut the Roosevelt lead to 19-18. Taua finished the game with three of the Govs' four aces.

Serving became the difference in Game 2, as the Lady Riders committed five service errors and two aces to Farrington's one error and four aces. Roosevelt struggled throughout the match with its serving, committing 14 errors.

"I think it was the mental part -- we broke down," Camello said. "We know Farrington is a tough team. They're not going to give away any points."

Farrington continued to stay even with Roosevelt to force the game into extra time, fighting off three match points. Down by a point at 26-25, Faafiti-Samuseva tipped the ball into the shallow court to tie the match.

The Govs took the lead with Roosevelt's seventh hitting error of the game. It was the first Farrington lead of the match. Bri Alafanso quickly forced a Game 3 with an ace.

"We battled, and that's where we had the best experience," Tumaneng said. "Knowing that we're down, and to keep playing, to stay consistent and get some points, we know those kind of games we can steal."

"We did fairly well," Camello said. "We made some errors here and there that we need to clean up. The good thing is that they were our errors."

Riding the momentum from their Game 2 comeback, the Govs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 3, capped by a Faafiti-Samuseva and Brandy Kahanaoi-Pimental block. But the Lady Riders quickly caught up and took the lead for good at 8-7 with a solo block by Yamashiro.

"We're learning by the situation, through the experience and decision-making that these youngsters have to make," Tumaneng said.